Stacie Attrill
1986-1988
Year 3, 4/5
Email: jbehrndt@picknowl.com.au
Penang was an incredible place for kids, wasn't it? I have the most amazing memories of my time in Penang, and at RSP.
I guess I lived in a time of big transitions for the RAAF population. I saw the closure of RSP (one of the saddest days in history - I don't think there was anyone who wasn't bawling), and the move from the old Hostie to the new one on Gurney Drive (there was also a third move in the early 90's to an old house on Brown Rd).
I remember spending a lot of time at video nights at Aussie house, and many bush dances, socials, musicals (the Rocky Horror picture show comes to mind...) etc that kept us entertained through the never ending summer...
On
the not so pleasant side, I remember copious monny drains (and falling into them),
monny sores, monny monsters... not to mention the menagerie of cholera and typhoid
shots that seemed to come around all too regularly.
We used to regularly
visit the Pulau Tikus markets, and the Temple of a thousand Rip offs for our fill
of bargains - and there was always Mr. Phoon and his van.... The food was sensational.
By the time we left, they'd moved all the Makan carts from Hillside down to Gurney
Drive, and now I'm told they have set up a special undercover area at the end
of Gurney Drive for them (kind of removes the magic and sponteneity, I think).
We had a membership at the Penang swimming club (Don't know how dad swung that...),
but also frequented the Rasa Sayang and Golden Sands hotels for use of their water...
RSP was sensational. My talented and driven teachers were Mr Herbert and Mr Frith. I remember frequently being dragged down to the school dentist
(which I hated), and being very very patriotic on ANZAC day. The Penang Hill run
just about killed me, and I lost many bags of peanuts going through the Monkey
gardens (monkeys have now been removed, I'm reliably informed). I'd love to get
back in touch with the people I went to RSP (and St. Christopher's International
School), particularly Fleur Radford.
Stacey Attrill
Stacie